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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION 



OF THE 



Soldiers of the War of 1812, 



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IN THE 



STATE OF NEW YORK, 



HELD AT 



Sclmylerville, Saratoga co., Oct. 17, 1856, 



IN REFERENCE TO THEIR CLAIMS FOR MILITARY SERVICES, 



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AND TO CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY OF 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER. 



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ALBANY: 
JOEL MUNSELL, 78 STATE STREET. 

1857. 



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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION 



OF THE 



Soldiers of the War of 1812 



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IN THE 



STATE OF NEW YORK, 



HELD AT 



Scliuylerville, Saratoga co., Oct. 17, 1856, 



IN REFERENCE TO THEIR CLAIMS FOR MILITARY SERVICES, 



AND TO CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY OP 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER. 



ALBANY: 

JOEL MUNSELL, 78 STATE STREET. 

1857. 



"B.Tfl 






X Mac^l 



PROCEEDINGS. 



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The convention assembled in pursuance of the following gene- 
ral orders of the General-in-Chief! 

Head-Quarters, Albany, Sept. 5, 1856. 
Veterans of the War of 1812, in the State of New York: 

The Legislature of this state having adjourned at its last ses- 
sion without passing the bill adjusting your military cla-ims, 
unanimously reported by a committee of the senate, the under- 
signed, your General-in-Chief, deems it expedient, and hereby 
advises and directs, that you assemble in convention, in person 
or by delegates, at Schuylerville, in the county of Saratoga, New 
York, on the seventeenth day of , October next, to adopt the ne- 
cessary measures to procure the payment of your claims, and to 
commemorate, by a military parade, a glorious triumph of our 
Revolutionary Fathers — the capture at that place of Burgoyne's 
army of invasion, on the seventeenth of October, 1777. 

The stupendous consequences of this event, a brief statement 
will disclose. The British force consisted of 10,000 men, which, 
in its organization and equipments, had no superior in any ser- 
vice. Co-operating with St. Leger, invading the western fron- 
tier, and with Sir Henry Clinton in the Highlands, its mission 
was to cut off the eastern colonies from the middle and southern, 
and to crush New York. She was assailed with fire and the 
sword, the tomahawk and scalping-knife, and Delenda est Car- 
thago was stamped on every movement of her imperious foe. 

When the storm first burst upon her northern frontier, New 
York could oppose but 1000 men to its over^whelming force. 
Her subjugation appeared to be inevitable. It was the crisis of 
her fate; and let it be engraven on the memory of her citizens 
in all time to come, that on the verge of the abyss, overpowered 
and helpless, she was snatched from destruction by the fraternal 
love and unflinching courage of the people from her sister colo- 
nies. At the first note of the bugle, when the danger was an- 



John Cross, of Saratoga; John Fisher of Washington; Geo. 
Strover, Esq., of Saratoga. 

Secretaries. — -Col. Lemuel Jenkins, of Albany^ Hon. John A. 
Corey, of Saratoga. 

Grand Marshal of the Bay. — Gen. Wm. McFarland, of 
Salem. 

Assistant Marshals, — General Darius Allen, of Rensselaer; 
J. T. Blanchard of Saratoga; and Col. John S. Crocker, of 
Washington. 

Aids to the Marshal. — Captains Alanson Welch, of Schuy- 
lerville, and Miles T. Blivin of Saratoga Springs. 

The following were designated as a committee of reception: 
Geo. Strover, Wm. Wilcox, Henry Holmes, Giles S. Brisbin, 
John Sheldon, Joseph Baucus and Amos Green of Schuylerville. 

In conformity with the arrangements an immense concourse 
of people assembled at Schuylerville on the day designated for 
the celebration. It was ushered in with a national salute, the 
weather was beautifully serene, and the sun shone brilliantly in 
a cloudless sky. 

The procession was long and imposing, under the direction 
of the grand marshal and his assistants, and consisted of the 
following military and fire companies: 

Albany Washington Continental Artillery, Co. A, with a fine 
band of music. 

2. Infantry Company No. of the 26th Regiment, under 
command of Captain Partlo. 

3. Captain Alanson Welch's Infantry Company of the same 
regiment. 

All of these were well disciplined and finely equipped corps 
doing credit to themselves and the occasion which called them 
out. 

Eagle Fire Company of Ballston Spa, numbering about forty, 
with a fine brass band of music. 

Fire Companies Nos. 2 ?.nd 3 of Saratoga Springs, number- 
ing about sixty. The David Nevins Fire Company of Victory, 
numbering about thirty, and two fine fire companies from 
Schuylerville, numbering fifty or sixty were present on this in- 
teresting occasion, and made a fine display, being all in appro- 
priate costume. 

They formed the escort of a large body of the Veterans of the War 
of 1812, and private citizens w^ho walked in the procession, and 
were conducted to the place selected for the civic performances 
of the day. This was Moakley's large tent which was pitched 
on Gravel Hill, on the south side of Fish Creek, w^here were 
planted the guns of the American battery which cannonaded 



the heights, occupied by the British array, before the surren- 
der. It was filled with two thousand ladies, on the front seats, 
and a dense mass of citizens in the rear of them, occupying the 
space so compactly, platform and all, that not one of the mili- 
tary or band could gain an entrance — an occurrence which all 
regretted. 

At noon the vast assemblage reached the tent and was 
organized by the president of the day taking the chair, assisted 
by the vice presidents and secretaries designated by the joint 
committees, and the throne of grace was then addressed in an 
eloquent prayer by the Rev. Samuel T. Searle, after which Gen. 
John S. Van Rensselaer delivered in substance the following 

ADDRESS. 

Veterans of the "War of 1812, and Fellow Citizens: 

We have assembled on this occasion in compliance with the 
invitation of the General-in-Chief, issued in the name of the 
survivors of the brave and patriotic Soldiers of the War of 18 12, 
sanctioned by the zealous co-operation of the citizens of Schuy- 
lerviile, Saratoga Springs and their vicinity, to commemorate an 
event marked in the history of the American Revolution, as most 
signal and decisive in its results, b}' the surrender of the British 
army commanded by Lt. General Burgoyne at this place on the 
17th day of October, 1777. 

This invitation of the old soldiers w^as most appropriate and 
becoming. 

They are the natural successors of the heroic men of the 
revolution, now departed, and are taking their places in public 
estimation as patriotic citizens who have served their country 
in its day of peril. They were the actors in the eventful and 
stirring scenes of the war of 1812, against the same enemy, and 
in vindicating the same rights of commerce and national inde- 
pendence at the cannon's mouth. 

These are the survivors of the men who fought the battles of 
the Niagara frontier, and the crowning victory at Plattsburgh, 
and in more than one stubborn conflict, had taughl the haughty 
Briton that the American Eagle would never cower to the 
British Lion, nor the Star Spangled Banner trail before British 
bayonets. 

It is in character for men so distinguished, to delight in doing 
honor to the memory of the brave men who achieved the 
victories of the 19th September and 7th October, 1777, who 
captured the British army under Burgoyne, rescued New York 
from destruction, and broke the sceptre of the British crown in 
the Colonies. 



8 

In accordance with the appropriate character of the invitation, 
is the selection of Schuylerville for the celebration of the day. 
Here on this very ground seventy-nine years ago, were enacted 
the thrilling and eventful scenes we are now commemorating. 

On yonder heights were entrenched the embattled host of the 
enemy ; the apex of yonder hill was the head-quarters of their 
commander, from which floated the royal standard of England — 
the red cross of St. George. On the very spot we occupy were 
planted the guns of the American battery, whose iron throats 
proclaimed in notes of thunder and with the missiles of death, 
that the thirteen united colonies had become free, sovereign and 
independent states, and would remain so in despite of the power 
of the British throne. 

On yonder plain, within half cannon shot of this platform, on 
the seventeenth day of October, 1777, the British, army furled 
their colors and grounded their arms in compliance with the 
articles of surrender, signed on the morning of that day. 

The battles of the 19th of September and 7th of October, 
1777, were fought on contiguous ground on Bemis' Heights — 
the conflict in the latter having begun where the former ended. 
They are known in Europe as the " Battle pf Saratoga," and a 
late English writer has remarked, that this battle may be 
classed, in its consequences, as one of the six great battles fought 
in the world. I feel it to be no presumption to say, that I look 
upon it as the greatest of any victory ever won, in its ultimate 
results on the destiny of the human race in the eastern as well as 
the western hemisphere. 

The proximate result was to compel General Burgoyne to 
surrender his army of invasion; that surrender secured the 
safety of New England, atid the state of New York — the last 
affording the only certain and unobstructed communication be- 
tween the eastern states and the middle and southern, the British 
having entire control of the seaboard and coast navigation. 

On the preservation of this communication, depended the suc- 
cess of the revolution, inasmuch as the continental army was 
chiefly supplied from the Eastern states with recruits and muni- 
tions of war. 

This victory secured to us also an alliance with France and 
the efficient aid of that power by sea and land; and that alli- 
ance at once brought with it a credit in Europe which enabled 
Congress to borrow from individuals in Holland and France, 
specie — funds, necessary to keep its armies in the field, at a period 
of the war when the paper currency issued by the government, 
was so much depreciated, that it required one hundred dollars in 
paper to purchase one dollar in silver; and thus the French 
alliance essentially accelerated the termination of the war. 



The ultimate results of the capture of Burgoyne's army on 
the destiny of millions of the human race are rapidly unfolding 
themselves. The success of the revolutionary struggle and the 
acknowledgment by Great Britain of the independence of the 
thirteen United States, the natural and immediate result of so 
great a triumph, produced the constitution and union of the 
states, now thirty-one sovereignties, forming a nation which, 
in its career of seventy-nine years' existence, has already taken 
rank as one of the most powerful nations of the earth. 

There is this marked difference between the battle of Saratoga 
and the battles and victories of ancient and modern times; from 
that of Thymbra, fought by the Persians against the Lydians, 
which is, I believe, the first battle described in profane history, 
down to the battle of Inkerman, in the Crimea, the last record- 
ed. Whichever side gained the victory, it was sure to result in 
confirming the power of kings and tyrants and riveting the 
chains of oppressed nations; a dynasty might be overthrown, a 
nation conquered or an empire established, but the people were 
still enslaved and the masses oppressed. But the battle of Sara- 
toga was fought in defence of individual rights and in support 
of principles not recognized by monarchs and their satellites, 
viz: that all power is derived from the will of the governed, 
and that the only rightful sovereign power is the will of the 
majority expressed through the ballot-box, according to the con- 
stitution and laws of a nation. 

Of all the battles described in history, that of Marathon bears 
the strongest analogy in its objects and results to that of Sara- 
toga. 

Darius, king of Persia, at the head ofsome ninety thousand men, 
invaded the territory of Athens for the purpose of subjugating it 
and restoring to power the -tyrant, Hippias, who had been 
driven into exile by the Athenians for his brutality and despo- 
tism. Darius was encountered at Marathon, a small town of 
Athens, by ten thousand Athenians, commanded by Miltiades, 
and alter a fierce battle the Persians were defeated with im- 
mense slaughter. Athens was saved, and for a long time re- 
mained free and independent, until shattered into factions by the 
unprincipled arts of demagogues, she fell a prey to the power 
of Philip, king of Macedon, wdio had corrupted her rulers and 
military leaders and thus obtained possession of the city. 

The events of the campaign of 1776, the first year of the war 
of the revolution were unpropitious to the cause, and w^ere sig- 
nally disastrous; the battle of Long Island was a total defeat of 
the Americans; the battle of White Plains, followed as it was 
by the surrender of Fort Washington and its garrison, was little 
less than a defeat; the invasion oi Canada by an American force 



10 

under General Montgomery, had proven a failure; The assault 
on Quebec had been repulsed by the British, Genera] Montgom- 
ery killed and the conquest of Canada abandoned as hopeless; 
arid at the close of military operations for the year, the most 
sanguine and enthusiastic of the Americans were in despair, re- 
garding the cause as irretrievably ruined and eventual success 
hopeless, if not impossible. 

This gloom of despondency which hung like a funeral pall 
over the whole country, chilling its spirit and palsying its energy, 
was partially dispelled by the brilliant and successful attack on 
the Hessians at Trenton, by a detachment of the American army 
under the immediate command of General Washington, who 
captured eight hundred of the enemy with the loss of very few 
lives. This affair served to revive the expiring hopes of the 
friends of the cause, and proved how much could be effected by 
courage and enterprise, in despite of untoward circumstances; 
but it gained no triumph that seriously reduced the strength of the 
enemy or insured the success of the revolutionary cause; but the 
capture of Burgoyne's army changed the whole aspect of the war. 
A condensed statement of the facts and circumstances prece- 
ding that decisive event, will be suitable to this occasion and 
cannot fail of being interesting and instructive to us all. 

On the 29ih of June, 1777, General Burgoyne, then in com- 
mand often thousand four hundred and eighty men, including 
Canadians and provincials and exclusive of Indians, drivers, 
sutllers, &c., and six members of parliament, issued a proclama- 
tion, meant to spread terror amongst the Americans and espe- 
cially to excite in them a fear of the Indians, whose number was 
magnified and their ferocity described with uncommon energy, 
and all the outrages of war in their most terrific forms w^ere de- 
nounced against all who w^ere found hostile to the royal cause. 
Having detached Col. St. Leger with a force of two hundred and 
tw^enty regulars and about seven hundred Indians by way of Oswe- 
go, to make a diversion on the Mohawk river, and having the pro- 
mise of the co-operation of Sir Henry Clinton with a strong force 
in the Highlands, he attacked and captured, almost without oppo- 
sition, Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, strongly fortified 
positions, and encountering the retreating American force under 
the command of General St. Clair, after a warm engagement at 
Hubbardton, compelled them to retreat with considerable loss. 
The American naval armament on Lake Champlain consisting of 
gun-boats, gallies and bateaus, w^ere either captured or sunk, 
and on the 7th of July, 1777, Burgoyne arrived with his army 
at Skeensborough, now W hitehali. 

He immediately detached Col. Hill with the ninth regiment of 
light infantry; eight hundred in number, to take post at Fort Ann, 



11 

This was a work of no importance, but the position was a 
strong one, being a defile formed by a mountain on the west 
side and wood creek on the east side. 

Here were posted about four hundred and fifty volunteers and 
militia from the counties of Albany and Schenectady, commanded 
by Col. Hendrick Van Rensselaer, the father of the late Gen. 
Solomon Van Rensselaer, of Queenstown celebrity. 

Forty years ago. Col. Van Rensselaer, at a dinner party, rela- 
ted to me the following particulars in reference to the repulse of 
the British in their attack on that post. They are the more in- 
teresting, from the fact that no official account was ever pub- 
lished of this conflict, which was the first check the British expe- 
rienced after leaving Canada. 

On the evening before the attack, General Philip Schuyler, 
then commanding officer on this frontier, came to the American 
camp and collecting the officers and men around him (for he 
knew most of them personally,) informed them that in the morn- 
ing they would be assaulted by the British advance, and all he 
required of them was to maintain their ground for one day 
against all odds, so as to enable him to bring away from Fort 
George the garrison cannon and stores which would be captured 
if the enemy reached Fort Edward before they had passed it, 
and that one day would suffice to place them in safety and pre- 
vent a loss that would be irreparable in the present emergency. 

Officers and men responded to the general's address with loud 
cheers and pledged themselves to stop the enemy at all hazards 
until the evening of the next day. 

The next morning, July 8th, the British were seen advancing 
with great spirit in close column; at sight of the Americans 
formed for action, they deployed into line and stood firm — the 
Americans commenced the battle in front with a heavy and well 
directed fire; a large body passed the creek and fired on the left 
of the British line; they then re-crossed the creek and attacked 
its rear; the enemy broke and retreated to the top of a hill on 
their right. Here the day was spent in a series of skirmishes, 
the close nature of which may be understood from the fact that 
CoL Van Rensselaer and Major Montgomery, of the ninth regi- 
ment, lay for hours within twenty yards ot each other, despe- 
rately wounded, and were borne on the same litter to Albany, 
when the Americans retreated at night to Fort Edward, after 
setting fire to Fort Ann, and destroying the works. 

The friends and neighbors of Gen. Schuyler more than re- 
deemed their pledge to liira, for they so eflfectually 'stopped the 
advance of the enemy, that Burgoyne did not reach Fort Edward, 
some twelve miles from Fort Ann, until the 30th of July following. 

This delay proved fatal to him. Had he abandoned his 



12 

heavy artillery and advanced in the most expeditious manner 
with a few light field pieces, he might have been at Albany by 
the time he consumed in getting to Fort Edward. Such was 
the opinion of Generals Schuyler and Gates. 

In the mean while, the tocsin of alarm was sounded through 
the neighboring Colonies, New Yoik was in danger, and the 
patriotic and brave inhabitants were soon hurrying to the rescue 
in all sorts of conveyances, and when Burgoyne arrived at 
Bemis' Heights and Stillwater, about 23 miles from Albany, 
he was faced in battle array on the 19th September, 1777, by 
the 1st, 2d, and 3d regiments of continentals from New Hamp- 
shire, the 8th, 9th, and 10th do, from Mas.vachusetts, a regiment 
of volunteers and militia from Connecticut, Warner's regiment 
of continentals from Vermont, the 2d and 3d New York conti- 
nentals, Morgan's rifle regiment from Virginia, about 1600 New 
York volunteers and militia, a strong brigade of New Hamp- 
shire do., and the Green Mountain boys in force from Vermont. 

The conflict was fierce, obstinate and sanguinary, the British 
fighting for victory and vengeance, the Americans for life and 
liberty. Both sides claimed the victory, but the enemy's advance 
was barred, and he fell back to his entrenched camp on Bemis' 
Heights. 

On the 7th of October, another severe battle was fought, 
Burgoyne was beaten and forced to retreat, abandoning his 
hospital and wounded, to Saratoga Heights, now SchuylerviJle, 
on Fish Creek, where, beleaguered on every side and incessantly 
harrassed by his indefatigable enemy, he surrendered himself 
and his army prisoners of war. 

New York was saved and a fatal blow inflicted on British 
supremacy in America. 

The news of Buro-ovne's surrender diffused a feel i rig- of uni- 
versal satisfaction throughout the states. Every American eye 
beamed with delight, every American bosom swelled with emo- 
tions of joy and gratitude for a victory so signal and decisive. 

The thanks of the continantal congress and of the legislature 
ot the state of New York, were unanimously voted to Gen. 
Gates and the troops under his command, for their distinguished 
services; but more than a mere formal vote of thanks was due 
from the people of the state of New York to the gallant men 
who rescued her from the ravages and desolation intended to be 
inflicted on her by Burgoyne's army and his savage allies. Let 
it be engraved on the memory of all as on tablets of brass, that 
on the verge of destruction, overpowered arid helpless, New- 
York was saved from subjugation by the biavery and timely as- 
sistance of her compatiiots from New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia. 



13 

To commemorate an achievement so glorious and decisive is 
most gratifying to every American citizen who is proud of }iis 
country and the military exploits of his countrymen. 
' I rejoice to behold the enthusiasm and patriotic fervor which 
seem to pervade this vast multitude, who have assembled here to 
do honor to the occasion and to assist the soldiers of the 
w^ar of 1812, in strewing fresh laurels on the graves of the heroic 
dead, of the several states, whose ashes mingled together, rest 
in calm repose beneath the soil, disenthralled from foreign sway, 
by the joint efforts and the sacrifice of so many gallant men. 1 
rejoice that the General-in-Chief of the Veterans of 1812, has 
been the humble instrument, to draw this multitude from their 
homes, to discharge this interesting and solemn duty which has 
been delayed so long, as to be a reproach to the good sense and 
right feeling of the people of this state. 

The pride of country which prompts a people to perpetu- 
ate the memory of a great event by an enduring memorial of its 
occurrence, is a characteristic of all nations recorded in history. 
The American people are not an exception to the remark: the 
citizens of Boston with commendable liberality contributed the 
requisite funds to erect a splendid monument, in honor of the 
battle of Bunker Hill; the citizens of Baltimore have reared a 
monument there, as a memorial of gratitude to the brave men 
who repulsed the British in their attack on that city, in the war 
of 1812. 

But of what importance to the nation were the achievements 
immortalized by these structures, compared with the stupendous 
consequences briefly sketched in my remarks which followed^he 
overthrow and capture of Burgoyne's army of invasion, yet not 
a solitary stone marks the spot where this great event occurred, 
or points to Schuylerville, as the ground on which Burgoyne 
surrendered. 

To atoae for an omission so glaring and palpable, permit me 
to ask each one of this numerous audience to contribute his 
means and to apply his personal influence and exertions to pro- 
cure the erection of a monument at this place, lofty as that on 
Banker Hill, on whose front shall be emblazoned in bold relief, 
" Immortal Fame to the Conquerors of Burgoyne," Endless Dura- 
tion to the Fruits of their Triumph, American Independence and 
the Union of the States. 

The remarks of Gen. Van Rensselaer, were received with 
marked attention and at intervals with great applause. 

After the close of his speech, Alfred B. Street, Esq., the orator 
of the day, delivered the following oration, which was listened 
to by the audience with great attention, and was loudly ap- 
plauded. 



14 

ORATION. 

Time, the trampler of the world, erects also elevations on 
which the light of history loves to linger. Upon their craggy- 
strength Fancy sheds her hues. To them. Patriotism leads its 
processions to twine memories and peal triumphal songs. From 
them, the Nation draws her lessons of wisdom, courage and hope, 
thus sustaining the crises of the present with the glories of the • 

past. 

Among these sublime elevations is the occasion we commemo- 
rate. The battle of Saratoga, of which the Surrender of Bur- 
goyne was the immediate consequence, is signalized by historic- 
ans, as one of the fifteen decisive battles of the world. The 
turning point of our Revolution; it decided the fate of American 
Independence. It changed the divine dream of Freedom, for 
the form of Freedom herself. It placed under the trembling arm 
of Hope, the anchor of confidence. A doubtful rebellion rose at 
its flashing blow, into a sublime struggle, with the fixed star of 
certainty shining full upon its forehead. It pierced the lion eye 
of England's prowess, and infused the strength of undoubted 
triumph in our panting Eagle. Henceforth the British court 
regarded as only a question of time the achievement of Ameri- 
can liberty. 

Remarkable in its exterior this battle is no less so in its in- 
terior relations. It was divided into two connecting parts. It 
embraced military fame and movements of military skill. It was 
fought with desperate valor. It was full of tremendous responsi- 
bilities. It possessed three most momentous auxiliaries, in the 
battles of Oriskany, Bennington and the siege of Fort Stanwix. 
It called forth the angry thunderbolts of Chatham, the flashing 
shafts of Barre, and the auroral splendors of Burke. It had its 
special exigencies, either of which might have turned the scale; 
the failure of Gates' ammunition — the deserter's tidings at Fish 
Creek, and Clinton's dispatches of his delayed approach. It 
was connected in the person of the brave Nixon with Bunker 
Hill. The picturesque scenes of the Old French war were asso- 
ciated with it— through Bennington — by the heroic Stark. 
Kosciusko, the engineer of the American entrenchments at Bemis' 
Heights, carries the mind to the grand struggle in after times for 
Polish liberty. It blended dauntless hearts from the granite hills 
of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the vil- 
lages of Massachusetts, Connecticut's beautiful river, the plains 
and slopes of "Washington's Virginia, and the river meadows of 
our own noble state. It encompassed in its wide circuit the 
silver of Champlain, island-starred Lake George, the leafy 
valley of the Mohawk, the dense forests of the upper Hudson, 
and the lovely landscape that surrounds us now. It developed 



15 

woman's fortitude in Madam De Reidesel, and her clinging 
fidelity in lady Harriet Ackland. It involved a tragedy of love 
and woe in the doom of Miss McCrea; and last, most interesting 
of all, the consequent surrender saw that banner — now known in 
every land and reflected from every sea, the sign of freedom and 
the dread of despots, the stars ever thickening and the stripes ever 
brightening — for the first time unfurled. 

It was a grand, heroic drama, with its stern war songs — the 
roll of drum, the blast of trumpet, and the clangor of contending 
hosts— ringing through it; with its side scenes of female devo- 
tion, its moans of individual suffering, and shrieks of individual 
death; the dying beds of warriors, with their exclamations of 
remorse in Fraser and prayers of faith in Herkimer; its chang- 
ing acts of confidence and despair; commencing in gloom to 
Freedom, and ending in her pealing bursts of joyous victory. 

Let us draw nearer to this grand battle, and survey it briefly 
in its momentous details. 

Like flame from Etna, burst forth the pent-up fires of our 
Revolution. Lexington tasted blood. Bunker Hill breathed 
the smoke of battle. Washington was made commander. Ad- 
verse fortune, relieved only by the evacuation of Boston, swept 
over the battle-fields of Long Island and White Plains, and New 
York was yielded to the foe. 

The British court had beheld, with exultation, the shadow 
darkening over the land. It had seen the bloody footprints of 
our soldiers retreating over the frozen soil of New Jersey, but 
it had also seen the lightnings of Trenton and Princeton, dart- 
ing from the sublime soul of Washington. It had seen his 
mighty arm dash back the foe again from New Jersey, and, filled 
with rage, it determined, by one giant blow, to finish the con- 
test. 

New York was decided upon as the scene. Its left arm was 
New England; its right the mighty lakes, home of the Indian 
tribes; and through it was easy access to the Middle and South- 
ern States. Cut off from New York, New England, the garrison 
of Freedom, could no longer furnish aid to the rest of the land. 
New York conquered, and the British Lion could then trample 
under its foot the whole of the confederacy. 

The campaign of . Burgoyne was consequently projected. 
That officer was to advance from Canada, capture the American 
posts upon Lake Champlainand the forts lower down, and sweep 
the upper Hudson. A simultaneous expedition was to pass 
through the Mohawk valley, while Lord Howe was to force his 
way up the Hudson — all three to form a victorious junction at 
Albany. 

General Schuyler (around whose brow history has now twined 



16 

the merited but delayed chaplet for the guidance of affairs at this 
memorable epoch) was at the head of our northern forces; and 
Ticonderoga, with Forts George, Ann and Edward, were garri- 
soned by American troops. 

Acting upon the plan of the campaign, Burgoyne, about the 1st 
of June, 1777, advanced from St. Johns, at the foot of Lake 
Champlain, with eight thousand British and German troops, 
Canadians and Indian allies, to Crown Point. Embarking 
thence, w^ith part of his army in the frigates the " Royal George" 
and " Inflexible," accompanied by gun boats, while the remain- 
der of his force moved under Eraser on the west of the lake, and 
Breyman on the east, he arrived on the 1st of July at Ticonde- 
roga. In the meantime Barry St. Leger had left the Sorel on his 
destined way to the Mohawk valley, with seven. hundred rangers 
from Burgoyne's army. Arriving at Osw^ego, he advanced, 
with the addition of four- hundred troops under Sir John John- 
son, and six hundred Indians under the celebrated Brandt, toward 
the American Fort Stanwix, commanded by Col. Gansevoort, at 
the head of boat navigation on the Mohawk, and thence to press 
his way through the valley. 

Burgoyne, occupying Mount Defiance, which overlooked 
Ticonderoga, forced, on the 6th of July, the evacuation of that 
post by its commander. Gen. St. Clair, who, with his troops, re- 
treated to Fort Edward, then occupied by Gen. Schuyler. 

The rear guard of St. Clair's forces under Col. Warner, was 
overtaken by a British detachment under General Eraser, at 
Hubbarton, and defeated. Forts George, Ann and Edward 
were successively abandoned by the American troops before the 
advancing wave of Burgoyne, and all was, for the time, discour- 
agement at the north. But the stern war cry — " Millions for 
defence, but not one cent for tribute," still echoed in the hearts 
of America's sons, and they prepared to meet the approaching 
foe. The first gleam of encouragement flashed from Benning- 
ton, where, on the 16th of August, Stark defeated a British de- 
tachment under Baura; and a few days later, Burgoyne received 
tidings of the battle of Oriskany, the retreat of St. Leger, hurled 
back from Fort Stanwix by the noble defence of Col. Gansevoort, 
and the utter failure of the expedition. 

Nothing had reached him of Howe's promised co-operation, 
and for the first time doubts of success shook the mind of Bur- 
goyne. But determined still to conquer, although clouds com- 
menced to gather in his rear, he pressed onward. Gen. Gates, 
superceding, on the 22d of August, the very day of St. Leger's 
retreat, Gen. Schuyler in the American command, and strongly 
reinforced by New England, advanced also; and Burgoyne, hav- 
ing crossed the Hudson a little above Battenkill, on a bridge of 



17 

toats, the two generals finally confronted each other in their 
respective entrenchments at Bemis' Heights. 

On the 19th of September, 1777, the opposing hosts met in 
conflict. 

There were the blue ranks of the Americans, with Gates and 
Arnold, Morgan, Poor and Learned; there were the red lines of 
England, with Burgoyne and Fraser, Ackland and De Reidesel. 

On came the British hosts with the banner of St. George; on 
went America's sons to meet therh. The air shook with the 
crash of musketry; the smoky cloud flashed with the flame of 
cannon; ranks tottered and fell; squares melted away; live tor- 
rents poured against blazing batteries; but on, through that 
smoky cloud, moved, high in the air, our stars and stripes. Men 
died beneath, with eyes fixed upon them. Ranks sank beneath, 
with bosoms toward them. In vain the brave Fraser raged. 
In vain the lion-banner waved. On went those stars and 
stripes; on through battalions; on through batteries — like an 
eagle against a flashing thunder-cloud — until night closed the 
battle. 

When that first conflict ended, Gates found himself nearly 
empty of ammunition. Had Burgoyne attacked him then, what 
might have been the consequence? but the secret was safe with 
the God of battles! 

Days glided over both armies, employed in strengthening 
their defences, with frequent skirmishing, until the 7th of Octo- 
ber. When that day dawned, again was the conflict renewed. 
The sharp sound of Virginia's rifle blended with the stern thun- 
der of New Hampshire; the hurrahs of Connecticut mingled 
with the wild shouts of Massachusetts; and the mighty voice of 
New York, like her own Niagara, resounded through the battle. 
Again went the stars and stripes through cloud and fire, through 
broken batteries and screaming slaughter. Vainly again did 
the lion-banner struggle, sprinkled now with the life-blood of 
Fraser. Vainly did the red uniforms fill up every gap, and close 
up every ghastly lane. As in Homer's song, Mars led Hector 
with his spear, so did Freedom the American host. Onward and 
onward went the starry flag, brightening as it went, until the 
peals of victory thundered beneath its folds. 

With despair darkening around him, Burgoyne took up his 
line of retreat, to reach the north. But, hemmed in on every 
side — Fort Edward in American hands, two thousand American 
troops on the east side of the Hudson, ready to dispute the pas- 
sage of the stream, the northern woods alive with those friendly 
to our cause, American entrenchments at the fords and passes 
toward Lake George, with Gates' victorious hosts close on his 
footsteps — Burgoyne paused in his retreat, upon the very scene 

2 



we view to-day, on tlie north bank of the stream in front, and at 
length proposed to capitulate. 

Previous, however, an event occurred which might have proved 
fatal to the American army. Feigning a further retreat, Bur- 
goyne concealed his main body in ambush, leaving a few batta- 
lions in his entrenchments. Gates, supposing he was in full 
retreat, forwarded detachments to crush the British rear guard, 
and it was only by an English deserter who was observed cross- 
ing Fish Creek toward the American camp, that the fact trans- 
pired of Burgoyne's ambush waiting to cut up in detail the 
American detachments after they had crossed the creek. 

On the very eve of completing the articles of capitulation 
which had been agreed upon by both parties, Burgoyne received 
intelligence that Clinton, having broken through the American 
posts at the Highlands, was advancing to co-operate with him. 
But it was too late. The cannon of Gates was pointed, ready 
to loosen their thunders against hicn, and he signed the articles. 

The morning of the 17th of October, the anniversary of 
which we now celebrate, rises. The hosts of England are to 
march forth to lay down their arms at the feet of their con- 
querors. Let us survey the localities, still existing, of the scene, 
and full within our eye. 

On the spot we occupy (Gravel Hill) were American breast- 
works. In front is Fish Creek, on whose north bank Burgoyne 
rested from his retreat. To the north-east is the field where 
Fort Hardy, constructed in the old French war, was situated. 
To the east and south was the American camp, and to the north- 
west arose the headquarters of Burgoyne. From these head- 
quarters were to march, in tvyo divisions, the royal troops, to 
lay down their arms on the field of Fort Hardy. 

The time came. 

Witnessed only by the American Wilkinson — for Gates, with 
honorable magnanimity, had ordered his army within their tents 
— forth in solemn silence issued the British hosts, platoon after 
platoon, company after company, regiment after regiment, and 
piled their weapons on the chosen field. 

Then came the next and most imposing spectacle. 

With their cannon at various points, harmless on their wheels, 
^nd their grim mouths silent, downwards stretched the American 
troops, in parallel lines of blue; every eye bright, every brow 
erect, every sword drawn, every gun to shoulder, with plumes 
and flags and war steeds scattered along the glittering streaks 
of bristling bayonets. There stood the states, participants of 
the battle, in the persons of their sons. There was Poor of 
New Hampshire. There was Learned of Massachusetts. There 
was Livingston of New York. There was Morgan at the head 



1^ 

of his Virginian Riflemen; and last and greatest of all, there was 
the noble Schuyler, not as a commander, but as a patriot, to wit- 
ness this glorious scene of America's triumph. On came the 
army of England. Veterans were there, scarred with many a 
field, and officers, bright with ribbon and star. Tramp, tramp — 
timing their steps to the music of our national air — down the 
blue lane they went, their hands hanging, their brows sullen, 
their eyes downcast, and, full iii their midst, that haughty flag — 
transmitted through a long line of kings, and trophied with the 
exploits of Marlboro, which had but lately soared up the steeps 
of Quebec, and, sanctified by the blood of Wolf, had flapped 
victoriously over the dying Montcalm; which had chased like a 
falcon bird, the lilies of France from the whole broad continent — 
now bowed down, its gorgeous folds trailing, while, in front of 
the sad procession, borne by two mounted officers, lofty in the 
air, waving in the sun, streaming in their triumph, shone the 
stars and stripes of victorious America. 

But the crowning act of the great drama remained. As the 
procession passed along, Burgoyne and Gates appeared, the 
former in royal scarlet, the latter in republican blue. Drawing 
his sword, and bowing low, Burgoyne, the general of England's 
king, placed it, in token of his submission, in the conquering 
hands of America's representative. 

When the tidings came, dismay rukd the British councils. 
France — beholding no more a dim, struggling outline, feebly 
guarding the blows that rained around it, but a radiant shape 
stepping from the mist, with a spear in her grasp, and a smile 
upon her brow, prepared to tread the way to victory — drew its 
sword and planted herself at her side; while Spain and Holland 
smiled upon her, anticipating her triumph. And the triumph 
came. From Saratoga's field of victory, our eagle reared his 
head and spread his wings. Up he soared, and onward he went. 
Wherever he swept, the great heart of our nation heaved with 
fresh life. The husbandman grasped, with his brown hand once 
more the weapon; and once more the mother directed her son 
to the conflict. Washington reared anew his stately presence, 
his brow starred with brighter hope. Sumpter leaped upon his 
battle-steed, and Marion flashed like lightning from his swamps. 
Onward still our eagle, the nation bounding as he flew, until, 
swooping from his flight, he heard the shouts of a victorious 
people thundering from the Heights of Yorktown. The battle 
of Saratoga was complete. American liberty was won. 

Bunker Hill has its monument, and so should Saratoga. 
Erected, it would concentrate the reverence and gratitude of the 
present time for the privations and patriotism of other days. Its 
eternal finger would be lifted to awaken, to warn, and, perhaps, 



20 

to save. It would point to our undivided Union as the only 
guarantee of our prosperity; and to the beneficent Heaven 
which smiled upon those undivided efforts that founded it, as the 
only source of our national blessings. 

REPORT 

Of the Committee on the Subject of a Monument. 

I. A. Corey, Esq., at the close of Mr. Street's address, on be- 
half of the committee of arrangements, submitted the following 
preamble and resolutions, which having been read were unani- 
mously adopted: 

While the people of this country are enjoying, in an eminent 
degree, the manifold blessings purchased by the blood and be- 
queathed to us by the Fathers of the American Revolution, it is 
the paramount duty of us their immediate descendants to trans- 
mit the legacy, unimpaired, to future generations. 

More than three quarters of a century have rolleil away since 
this very spot was first consecrated to freedom by one of those 
glorious events in our revolutionary annals, which more perhaps 
than any other, gave shape and direction to the destinies of the 
human race; within which period the great experiment of self- 
government has been fairly and successfully tested. 

Very few of the witnesses of those events which so largely 
contributed to our national independence, aie now lingeiing 
among us to bear living testimony to the trials and hardships 
and sacrifices of those bold patriots who pledged and periled 
their fortunes and their lives in the cause of American liberty. 

Other nations rear their lofty columns and build their triumph- 
al arclies in honor of the men, to commemorate the achieve- 
ments of the age at which they live, while our own government, 
rich in material wealth and resoufses, has hitherto done com- 
paratively nothing to perpetuate the memory of our early 
struggles and wonderful triumphs over kingly power. 

The wealth of a nation is of but little value without national 
virtue and national charactei, and if these are worth preserving 
the public mind must be impressed with the true idea of our con- 
dition before, and contrasted with our condition since the estab- 
lishment of our independence in 1777. 

Our statesmen must be firm and unflinching in their devotion 
to the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty. 
Our poets and orators must be eloquent in portraying the excel- 
lencies of our political system, the best yet devised by the wisdom 
of man. 

The press, the Archimedian lever of public opinion in a free 
country, must teem with its praises of that system which has 
carried us safely through every crises for the last seventy-five 
years. 



21 

Legislative bodies, and other custodians of the public treasury 
must be liberal in their appropriations for commemorating our 
revolutionary triumphs- 

And above all, the sovereign people, the legitimate source of 
all political power, must speak in tones to be heard through the 
length and breadth of the land they intend to guard, this the 
citadel of liberty, against all the assaults of its enemies, come- 
from whatever quarter they may. 

In view of Ihe foregoing facts and suggestions, we, who are- 
this day assembled to celebrate the 79th Anniversary of Bur- 
goyne's Surrender, do adopt the following resolutions: 

Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting, thfe capture 
of the British army under General Burgoyne, at Saratoga, wavS 
one of the three most important events in our war of independence. 
That it w^as equal in importance to the country as the battle of 
Bunker Hill, in the commencement of our revolutionary struggles, 
and as the capture ofYorktown, which so gloriously closed the 
contest. That the capture of Burgoyne's army was in fact the 
turning point in the war of the revolution, as it encouraged the 
friends of freedom everywhere to persevere in the contest, and 
secured to us the benefit of the French alliance. 

Resolved, That a suitable monument ought to be erected at 
this place to commemorate the important event in our national 
history, which we this day celebrate, and as a memorial of the 
patriotism and bravery of those who were engaged in the va- 
rious battles in this vicinity, which resulted in the capture or 
surrender of the whole British army under General Burgoyne, 
on the 17th of October, 1777. 

Resolved, That a permanent committee of fifteen citizens be 
appointed from different parts of the state to devise a plan and 
to secure the means for erecting such a monument as soon as 
practicable, and to memorialize Congress for the grant of funds to 
aid in its erection, and to aid in the erection of a similar monu- 
ment at Yorktown, in the southern section of our glorious Union, 
where our independence was finally secured by the capture of 
the British army under Lord Cornwallis. 

Resolved, That the following gentlemen compose the said 
committee, viz: Reuben H. Walworth, E. C. Delevan, James 
M. Cook, William Wilcox, George Strover and Mayo Pond, of 
the county of Saratoga; Charles F. Ingalls, of the county of 
W'ashington; Martin Lee, and George R. Davis, of the county of 
Rensselaer; Horatio Seymour, of the county of Oneida; 
Arnasa J. Parker and John S. Van Rensselaer, of the county of 
Albany; Erastus Brooks, of the city of New York; and John A. 
King, of the county of Kings. 

After the close of the ceremonies of the day, the Veterans of 



22 

the War of 1812, assembled in convention and organized by 
choosing the following officers: 

Gen. John S. Van Rensselaer, President; Generals Abner 
Woodworth of Yates, L. W. Ryckman of New York, Abraham 
Verplank of Brooklyn, Thomas Machin of Montgomery, Wil- 
liam McFarland of Salem, Colonels Nicholas Smith of Utica, 
Henry Raymond of New York, Theodore Dickinson of Palmyra, 
E. F. Smith of Rochester, Peter Banker of Schenectady, and 
Peter Osterhout of Albany, Vice Presidents. 

Secretaries — Col. Lemuel Jenkins of Albany, Col. John T. 
Hildreth of Brooklyn. 

After calling the convention to order, the president briefly 
explained the object of the convention, and proposed a memorial 
to the legislature, which was read by Col. J. T. Hildreth, and 
was unanimously adopted, and is as follows: 

MEMORIAL 

Of the Convention of Veterans of 1812, convened at Schuyler- 
ville, Saratoga county, Oct. 17th, 1856. 

To the Honorable the Legislature of the State of New York: 

The memorial of the members of a convention of officers and 
soldiers of the war of 1812, assembled at Schuylerville, in com- 
pliance with the orders of their General-in-Chief of Sept. 5th, 
1856, respectfully represents: 

That the legislature of the state of New York, on the 21st 
April, 1818, passed an act authorizing and requiring the Coia- 
missary General to audit and settle the accounts properly 
chargeable to the state of New York, for the services and contin- 
gent expenses of the volunteers and militia of the state, called 
out for its defence during the late war, and that he make report 
of the amount which he finds due to every claimant, at the next 
session of the legislature; and that he also examine the claims 
of certain persons, for certain arms pressed and taken into the 
service and lost by the militia and volunteers, and that he make 
a like report. 

That on the 9th April, 1819, the legislature passed an act 
authorizing the payment of a sum not exceeding four thousand 
dollars, in satisfaction of the accounts that might be reviewed 
and audited and settled by the comptroller, which were or might 
be reported to the legislature at the then session by the commis- 
sary general, agreeably to the act of the 21st April, 1818. 

That'claims amounting to the sum of about $2800, appear 
by the books in the comptroller's office of this state, to have 
been paid by that officer, under said act. 

In the mean time at each successive session of the legislature, 
many uf these claims were presented to the legislature, but 



23 

were set aside on the ground that the act of 1818 provided for 
their adjustment. 

A case of this kind occurred in 1829, when the committee to 
whom the subject was referred, on an individual petition for ser- 
vices rendered, etc., reported " that the case is provided for by 
the act of 1818," and the claimant was thrown back upon the 
act of 1818 for remuneration, like many others. Vide, H. C. 
Page's Digest of Claims, pending in the House of Assembly^ 
page 18; where he also says, "From the year 1819 until 1853, 
although individual claims were presented to the legislature (as 
above), I have not been able to hnd, alter close examination of 
the archives, that there have been any additional acts passed, 
like that of 1810, to provide for the liquidation of these claims^ 
or any of them." 

That until the 4th of July, 1853, no organization of the of- 
ficers and soldiers of the war of 1812 existed iji the state of New 
York, and no effort had been made to collect and ascertain who 
had claims against the state and the amount thereof, under the 
act of 1818. The individuals having them were in moit cases 
poor in circumstances, scattered over the state, and the amount 
of each claim so small as not to warrant the expense, time and 
money that individual efforts would require. 

But on that day, at a state convention, held in the city of 
New York, and subsequently on the 17th of September, 1854, at 
Fonda, the officers and soldiers of 1812 were formed into regi- 
ments and brigades throughout the state; their claims individu- 
ally reduced to writing, authenticated and proved, as claims for 
bounty lands are required to be proved, under the act of Con- 
gress, passed in 1850, and about sixteen hundred claims for loss 
of clothing, arms, &c., in actual service, have been presented to 
be audited and settled by the Commissary General, for which he 
gave a receipt in December, 1854, to John S. Van Rensselaer, 
as General-in-Chief, representing the Veterans of 1812 in the 
state of New York, and said claims are still undisposed of by 
the Commissary General, and amount in the aggregate to about 
ninety thousand dollars. 

That at the last session of the legislature, a committee of the 
senate, to which had been referred numerous petitions of the 
claimants, unanimously reported a bill for the settlement of these 
claims, not to exceed in amount $150,000, with their reasons 
for so doing, to which report your petitioners respectfully refer 
the legislature. 

And your petitioners further represent that the greater por- 
tion of the claims is for the wear and tear of clothing, for the 
payment of which no provision was made in the act of Con- 
gress, passed April. 10th, 1812, under which the militia of the 



24 

state of New York were ordered into service. That the fourth 
section of said act allowed the privates of the militia so called 
into service, the p:iy and rations of the privates in the regular 
service, viz: eight dollars a month and the usual rations of 
meat and bread per day, but no allowance was made for cloth- 
ing- 

That said act of Congress was almost verbatura of a copy of 
an act of Congress, passed March 30th, 1808, entitled " An act 
authorizing 100,000 men of the militia to be called into ser- 
vice," which latter act provided an allowance for clothing in 
addition to pay and rations, which is wholly omitted in its ap- 
parent copy, the said act of April 10th, 1812. 

That while the regular soldier at his enlistment, was paid a 
bounty of sixteen dollars, and as the war progressed much more, 
and furnished with a suit of clothing and an overcoat, the rank 
and tile of the militia were forced into service under a law of 
Congress, for three or six months, without a dollar being ad- 
vanced to them for clothing or any purpose, and after serving 
out his time, often half clothed, the militia man was paid eight 
dollars a month, the pay of a regular soldier, and no allowance 
for clothing, thus compelling him to serve the public in a rigo- 
rous climate, without sufficient clothing, or if he had sufficient 
clothing,, perhaps his only property, to wear it out without com- 
pensation tor it. 

That losses were also sustained by said volunteers and militia, 
by depositing arms in arsenals, which were never returned to 
them^ accounts of all which, duly proved, have been rendered 
to the Commissary General by the claimants. 

Your memorialists further* represent, that not over one seventh 
of the original number of the officers and soldiers of the war of 
1812 now survive; that they are far advanced in life, and 
rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth; and they re- 
spectfully submit, whether, after so much procnistination and 
delay, the character and credit of the state of New York do not 
demand that the acknowledged claims of her patriotic citizen 
soldiers, who faithfully and successfully defended her against 
British invasion, should be paid and satisfied. 

After mature deliberation, your memorialists have come to 
the conclusion that no better or safer way can be devised to do 
justice to the state and to the claimants, than to erect a compe- 
tent board of three commissioners, one of whom shall represent 
the claimants, to audit and certify their accounts, and direct the 
comptroller to draw his warrant on the treasurer, payable in 
two years from date, bearing an interest of six per cent per 
annum, to an amount not exceeding $150,000, as provided for 
in the bill reported by a committee of the honorable, the senate 
at its last session, to which your memorialists respectfully refer. 



25 

And they respectfully request the honorable the legislature, 
that John S. Van Rensselaer, of Albany, their General-in-Chief, 
be named as the commissioner on the part of the claimants. 

Col. Dickinson offered the following resolution, which was 
unanimously adopted; 

Resolved, That the cordial thanks of this convention be, and 
they are hereby tendered to the citizens of Schuylerville and 
Saratoga Springs, for their zealous co-operation with the com- 
mittee of arrangements appointed by the General-in-Chief in 
behalf of the Veterans of 1812, to make the necessary prepara- 
tions for celebrating this day, and for the facilities, accommoda- 
tions and conveniences afforded to the members of the conven- 
tion on this interesting occasion, and to the joint committee of 
arrangements for their invaluable services in preparing and 
arranging all the iniatory details necessary to carry out the re- 
commendation of the General-in-Chief for celebrating the day. 

Resolved, That the thanks of this convention be, and the same 
are hereby rendered to the president of the day, and Alfred B. 
Street, Esq., the orator of the day, for the instructive and elo- 
quent address delivered by each in honor of the day. 

Resolved, That this convention tender its thanks to Conti- 
nental Company A, commanded by Captain Y^tes, of the city 
of Albany, and to the German band accompanying it, and to 
the Light Infantry Company of the 26th Regiment, commanded 
by Capt. Bartlo, and to the Infantry Company of the same 
Regiment, commanded by Capt. Alanson Welch, and to Eagle 
Company of Ballston Spa, with its fine brass band of music; to 
Fire Companies No. 2 and 3 of Saratoga Springs; to the David 
Nevin's Fire Company of Victory Village; and the two superior 
fire companies trom Schuylerville, for their services in the 
procession and ceremonies of the day. 

Resolved (on motion of Col. John T. Hildreth), That 
the warmest thanks of the convention are due, and are hereby 
tendered to the gentlemen of the public press in the cities of 
New York and Albany, in the villages of Schuylerville and 
Saratoga, and throughout the state, for their friendly aid in giving 
publicity on liberal terms, to the preliminary notices and ar- 
rangements incident to the occasion. 

Resolved (on motion of Gen. Van Rensselaer), That the thanks 
of this convention be rendered to the officers of the Northern, 
New York Central, Hudson River and Boston Railroads, for their 
liberality in passing over their respective roads the Veterans 
of 1812, and the military attending the celebration, at reduced 
rates of fare. 

Resolved (on motion of Col E. F. Smith), That the thanks 
of this convention be rendered to Gen. William McFarland, 

3 



26 

the Marshal of the day, and his assistants, for their judicious 
arrangements in marshaling the troops and conducting the pro- 
cession, and for the order and decorum which marked all the 
proceedings incident to their duties. 

On motion of Gen. Abner Woodworth, 

Resolved, That this convention hereby request the General-in- 
Chief, to complete the organization of the Veterans of 1812, in 
the state of New York, by appointing the major generals 
recommended by the national convention held at Washington 
on the 8th January, 1855. 

Resolved, That the president of this convention be, and he is 
authorized to affix the names of all the officers of this conven- 
tion to the memorial just adopted, and to present the same to 
the honorable, the legislature, at the coming session. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this convention and of the 
day be published in pamphlet form, or in the public prints, as 
the General-in-Chief may decide. 

ORGANIZATION 

Of the Survivors of the Officers and Soldiers of the War of 
1812, in the State of JYew York. 

The "New York State Convention, relative to the war of 
1812," assembled at the Supreme Court room, in the new City 
Hall, of the city of New York, on the 4th of July, 1853, the 
members of which convention were survivors of the officers 
and soldiers of the war of 1812, in the state of New York, at- 
tending as delegates from the several counties of this state, 
chose Arthur S. Johnson, Esq., president, and John Alwaise, 
Esq., of the city of New York, secretary. The following 
several resolutions were submitted and unanimously adopted. 

Resolved, That this convention deem it expedient to the 
furtherance of the various interests of the soldiers of the war 
of 1812; that the veteran corps of the city of New York, be so 
extended as to embrace the several counties and the enrollment 
of the names of those residing therein throughout the state. 

Resolved, That there be elected by this convention, one Gene- 
eral-in-Chief of the state of New York, who shall hereby be 
empowered to appoint suitable aids with the title of Colonel, 
residing in each county of the state, who in like manner ap- 
point or cause to be elected junior officers with the title of cap- 
tain and lieutenant, for the purpose of enrolling and obtaining 
the names of those survivors, who were engaged in the service 
of the United States in the war with great Britain, declared 
June 18, 1812, and were honorably discharged therefrom and 



27 

make returns of the same from time to time as may be requir- 
ed by the General-in-Chief, whose further duty it shall be to re- 
commend, advise and direct, from time to time, such measures 
as he may judge best calculated to advance the true interests of 

said Veterans. 

On the ninth day of January, 1854, a national convention of 
the survivors of the officers and soldiers of the War of 1812, 
appearing in person or by delegates from the different states of 
the uniorT, of which Joel B. Southerland, was president, passed 
the following resolution: 

Resolved, That this convention recommend and advise at the 
request of the delegates from the state of New York, that the 
General-in-Chief of the veterans of the War of 1812, in that 
state, organize the said veterans into brigades and regiments, 
and that he appoint suitable and efficient officers to command 

the same. 

On the eighth day of January, 1855, the national convention 
of the soldiers of the war ot 1812, assembled in the city of 

Washington. 

Resolved, That it is expedient for the united brothers of the 
war of 1812, in the several states of the union, and in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, to organize themselves into divisions brig- 
"ades and regiments. 

On the seventeenth day of October, 1856, a state convention 
of the Veterans of the War of 1812, in the state of New York, 
assembled at Schuylerville in the county of Saratoga. 

Resolved, That the General-in-Chief, be and he is hereby 
authorized, to appoint one major general, for every two brigades 
throughout the state, in conformity with the resolution of the 
national convention held in the city of Washington on the 8th 
of January, A. D. 1855. 

Head Quarters, Albany, January, 5th 1857. 

The following regulations must be observed in the costume 
of the various grades of officers in the veteran organization of 
the state of New York. 

General-in-Chief.— K blue or black coat to be worn with a 
strip of gold lace, three and a half inches long, across each 
shoulder, with a small gold star one inch above the centre of it; 
the hat must have a cockade and eagle, as worn by the Veteran 
Corps of the city of New York, with sash and small sword 
when in prosession. 

Major Generals. — The same as the above, excepting that two 
gilt buttons stamped with an eagle on each shoulder, shall be 
substituted for the star. 



28 

Brigadier Generals.' — The same as the next above, excepting 
that only one gilt button shall be worn on each shoulder. 

Colonel and Lieut. Colonel. — The same as the next above, 
excepting that silver lace and silver plated buttons shall be 
used, instead of gilt. 

Majors. — The same as the next above, without the buttons. 
Captains. — The same as the next above, the lace to be fixed 
on the right shoulder only. 

Each veteran on duty is required to wear the cockade and 
eagle on the leit side of his hat. 

JOHN S. VAN RENSSELAER, 
General-in-Chief of the Veterans of 1812, 

in the state New York. 

ROLL OF OFFICERS 

Of the Veterans of 18 12, in the state of JYew York. 

General-in-Chief — John S. Van Rensselaer of the city of 
Albany. 

Jiids-de-camp. — Col. John Alwaise of the city of New York; 
Col. John T. Hildreth of the city of Brooklyn ; Col. Archer 
Hays of Newark, Wayne county; Col. Samuel E. Hudson of 
Newark, Wayne county. 

General Staff.- — L. W. Ryckman of the city of New York, 
Adjutant General; William Seymour of the city of Albany, 
Quarter Master General; Lemuel Jenkins of the city of Albany, 
Paymaster General; H. H. Porter, M. D., of the city of New 
York, Surgeon General; B. R. Robson of the city of New York, 
Assistant Surgeon General ; John Anthon of the city of New York, 
Judge Advocate General; John Loveridge of the city of New 
York, Assistant Judge Advocate General; Rev. Peter I. Van 
Pelt and Rev. Gardner Spring of the city of New York, Chap- 
lains; Col. Wm. Buttre of the city of New York, Asf^istant 
Quarter Master General. 

Brigadier Generals. — 14th Brigade, Abner Woodworth of 
Penn Yan, Yates county; 13th Brigade, James Bogert of the 
city of Geneva; 8th Brigade, Thomas Machin of JViontiiomery 
county; 4th Brigade, Henry Wynkoop of Catskill; 2d Brigade 
Abiaham Verplank of the city of Brooklyn; 3d Brigade, Noyes 
Baker of South Dover, Dutchess county; 5th Brigade, George R. 
Davis of the city of Troy; 6th Brigade, William McFarland, 
Salem, Washington county; 7th Brigade, Philip B. Roberts of 
Plattsburgh, Clinton county; 9th Brigade, John E. Hinman of 
Utica, Oneida county; 10th Brigade, Arthur S. Johnson of Ithaca; 
1 Itii Brigade, Jacob Young of x4.uburn, Cayuga county; 12th 
Brigade, Warren Clarke of Potsdam, St. Lawrence county; 15th 
Brigade, Thomas Maxwell of Elmira; i6th Brigade, Jonathan 



29 

Childs of the city of Rochester; 17th Brigade, Josiah Hovey of 
the city of Buffalo. 

Colonels.— John R. Satterby of Setauket, Suffolk county 5 
Daniel Raynor of Hempsted, Queens county; A. W. Jones of the 
city of New York; Henry Raymond of the city of New York; 
Edward Suffern of Suffern, Rockland county; Jacob H.; Dewitt 
of Kingston, Ulster county; Benjamin Dunning of Ridgbury, 
Orange county; Andrew B. Decker, Courtlandville, Tompkins 
county; Wm. Poultney, city of Hudson; Peter Osterhout, city of 
Albany; Peter Banker, city of Schenectady; Herman I. Ehle, 
Canajoharie; Stephen^ Livingston, Johnstown, Fulton county; 
Frederick P. Bellinger, Herkimer; Ebenezer Thompson, Verona, 
Oneida county; William Richardson of Oneonta, Otsego county; 
Harvey Baldwin, Syracuse, Onondaga county; Elijah F. Smith of 
the city of Rochester; Sherman Hosmer, Union Square, Oswego; 
Abel Chamberlain, Keeseville, Clinton; Jasper Marvin, Lima, 
Livingston county; William Sheldon, Le Roy, Genesee county; 
Parkhurst Whitney, Niagara Falls; Gardner Wells, Waterloo, 
Seneca county; Wm. Warren, East Aurora, Erie county; Ansel 
Smith, Irving Centre, Steuben county; Thomas E. Dorsey, Lyons, 
Wayne county; Theophikis Harpenbrook, Brooklyn city; Ahaz 
Hays, Keeseville; Lewis Pearson, Warrensburgh, county of War- 
ren; John Fisher, Whitecreck, Washington county; William E. 
Ross, Rossville, Staten Island; Ephraim Beach, Catskill, N. Y.; 
Henry McCormick, Owego, Tioga county; S. W. Edwards of 
Waterloo, Seneca county; Asahel Bannister, Geneva, N. Y. 

Lieutenant Colonels —C, F. Benton, Little Falls, Herkimer 
county; Caleb Goodrich, Boonsville, Oneida county; Theodore 
Dickinson, Palmyra, Wayne county; Z. A. Disbrow, Waterloo, 
Seneca county; Wm. R. Miller, Marcy, Oneida county; Piatt 
Newcomb, Plattsburgh, Clinton county; George Wagner, Pala- 
tine, Montgomery county; George F. Dunckle, Seward, Scho- 
harie county; Jeremiah Terhune, Northumberland, Saratoga 
county; Asa Root, of Fort Ann, W^ashington county 5 Wm. 
Griffen, Warrensburgh, N. Y.; Peter J. Clute, city of Schenec- 
tady; Abner Bunnel, Canandaigua. 

Majors. — Welcome W. Chase, Amsterdam, Montgomery 
county; Gorsham P. Van Alstyne, Canajoharie; Daniel Failling, 
Lyons, Wayne county; Humphrey Taylor, Ausable, Clinton 
county; Wm. Elmendorf, Cobbleskill, Schoharie county; Wm. 
Oilman, Kirksville, Onondaga county; Samuel Black, Whitehall, 
Washington county; Isaac Leadyard, city of Schenectady; 
Joshua Phillips, Richmond, Ontario county; John Y. Manning, 
Ovid, Seneca county. 

Published under the direction of the General-in-Chief. 

Albany, Jan'y 5th, 1857. 



APPENDIX. 



< ♦••■» 



Saratoga Springs, Sept. 30th, 1856. 

Dear Sir— It would give me great pleas?ire to comply with 
your request to address the people who are to assemble at the 
old battle ground of Saratoga, on the 17ih of October, where 
British pride was humbled in 1777. That signal defeat of our 
proud and remorsless invaders, was the turning point in the war 
of the Revolution; for it satisfied the enemy that we were no 
longer rebels, defending our property and our lives against ty- 
ranny and oppression; but a nation of freemen, determined to 
achieve our country's freedom and independence. It also se- 
cured us the French alliance, which eventually terminated the 
struggle much sooner than it could otherwise have been done. 
The place of Burgoyne's surrender should, therefore, be the site 
of a national monument, erected by the people of the whole 
country, to commemorate the event whose anniversary you are 
about to celebrate. 

Had I the ability, however, to do justice to the occasion, my 
time is so completely occupied between this and the 17th of Oc- 
tober, I could not prepare myself to deliver an address at that 
time. I am fully occupied this week, and the next I must be 
absent in the north part'^of the State. I shall endeavor, how- 
ever, to be present, and render you any assistance which may 
be in my power, on the occasion of your meeting. 

In the mean time, if I can get some one who has leisure to 
prepare a short address for the occasion, I will endeavor to se- 
cure his services for you. 

Yours, with respect, 

REUBEN H. WALWORTH. 
General John S. Van Rensselaer, Albany. 



Lexington, October 11th, 1856. 
My Dear Sir — -Your official notification to me, that I was ex- 
pected to address the Old Soldiers at Schuylerville, on the 17lh 
day of this month, when it was proposed to celebrate the sur- 
render of Burgoyne, which took place there on the 17th day of 



31 

October, 1777, did not reach me 'till this morning, having been 
mis-directed. 

It is truly painful to me, to find myself unable to occupy the 
very flattering position assigned to me. Nothing could afford 
more real pleasure, wholly withdrawn from politics as 1 have 
been for the last four years, I have yet been an anxious "looker- 
on," during the present contest, and I should be gratified to have 
such and opportunity and occasion to speak to the descendants 
of the American Heroes, who conquered our powerful enemy in 
the Revolutionary struggle, and upon the frail foundation of 
thirteen independent, weak and thinly populated colonies — built 
up this mighty Empire, by making and consolidating our Glori- 
ous Union. 

Let abolitionists of the North, and Nullifiers of the South — 
disunionists in principle and traitors at heart, bluster as much as 
they please, — in reference to the coming Presidential election; ■ 
and talk, in a certain contingency, of severing the ties that have 
heretofore bound us together in one common destiny ,^ — cemented 
as those ties were by the precious blood of a common ancestry — 
allow me to express the opinion that they will find no coun- 
tenance or support from the Soldiers of the War of 1812 — 
CERTAINLY NONE IN KENTUCKY, let what wiU be the result. 

Our hopes of happiness and prosperity for the long future 
ahead of us, are concentrated and fixed immovably, on one idea — 
" Liberty and Union, Now and Forever." 

During the late war, we fought on free-soil and on slave-soil, 
on the frontiers of Ohio and New York, as well as in Louisiana— 
and will do so again whenever necessary to defend our free 
institutions, as they are, and our Country's rights and honor — 
against any foe — foreign or domestic. 

Very truly your friend and fellow-citizen, 

LESLIE COMBS. 

To Col. Samuel Jenkins, Sty. Com. Ar., Albany, N. Y. 



Lexington, Oct. 11th, 1856. 
To Gen. John S. Van Rensselaer. 

My Dear Sir — Your very kind letter of the 2d, is arrived and 
I annex my answer to the official communication, just at hand 
on the same subject. I can not possibly come, my official duties, 
such as no substitute can perform, require my presence here 
next week. I pray you to make known my regret and thanks 
to my brother Veterans of 1812. 

Yours very truly, 

LESLIE COMBS. 



32 



New York, Oct. 9th, 1856, 

Dear Sir — Before receiving your note inviting me to attend 
the first celebration of Burgoyne's surrender, I had accepted an 
invitation to visit a neighboring State on the 17th ult. I shall, 
therefore, be denied the pleasure of meeting the surviving Vete- 
rans of the war of 1812, at Schuylerville, on that day. Belong- 
ing to a generation who have grown up since the war of 1812- 
15, its events upon land and sea, nevertheless, awaken the most 
impressive remembrances. In the sea service of the United 
States, my own father lost his life, at the close of the war, after 
having been permitted to share in some of the captures of the 
enemy on the ocean. 

Our Revolutionary heroes, one by one have been leaving us, 
until hardly a man is left in the land to record of his own know- 
ledge the services and sacrifices of our fathers. And one by one, 
also, the country is losing the presence of those who were active 
participants in the war for our second Independence. A reve- 
rence for the past is not a distinguished feature with our coun- 
trymen. We are absorbed, rather, with the business and enjoy- 
ments of the present hour, forgetful of what it cost to achieve 
and maintain our present liberties. 

Some of the most splendid triumphs of the army and navy of 
the United States, were secured on the northern iVontier of our 
own State. I rejoice that the Veterans of 1812 have made ar- 
rangements to commemorate one of the most glorious events of 
the revolutionary war. May those who participated in the 
second war, not only find their own patriotism increased by con- 
templating the battles and victories of September and October 
1777; but, in their own good example, may they stimulate all 
of us to love our whole country, and to regard as personal and 
public enemies all who would endanger its liberties. 

The citizens of the State owe to its active militia the con- 
sideration due to those who are the voluntary protectors of pub- 
lic order and private property; but larger and more substantial 
obligations are due to those who, in times of public peril, proved 
themselves worthy of the love of their country and the respect 
of all mankind. 

Wishing each and all of you a well-spent day, and regretting 
sincerely that I am not to be permitted to testify the individual 
respect 1 feel for the Veterans of 1812, 

I am, very truly yours, &c., 

ERASTUS BROOKS. 
To John S. Van Rensselaer, General-in-Chief of the Veterans 

of 1812, in New York. 



33 

Albany, Oct. 11, 1856. 

Gemleraen — I regret exceedingly that it will not be in my 
power to attend your " celebration of Burgoyne's surrender" on 
the 17th inst. Other engagements previously made will re- 
quire my presence, on that day, in a distant part of the state. 

The celebration you propose can not fail to be productive of 
good results. When patriotism, flags and partizan feeling and 
sectional prejudice threaten to gain the mastery, it is well to 
recur to the glorious incidents of our revolutionary struggle of 
the lofty heroism of our fathers. Our love for the union may 
be strengthened by being reminded of the sacrifices made to 
achieve our independence, and of the spirit of forbearance and 
kindness by which the union was accomplished. 

There is also a debt of gratitude uncanceled. We can never 
repay all the obligations we owe to the brave men who have 
fought our battles; but they have claims upon our justice we 
are not at liberty to disregard, and a response to which should 
no longer be delayed. Very Respectfully, yours &c. 

A. J. PARKER. 

To Messrs. George Strover, Mayo Pond, and Gen. Abner 
Woodworth, and others, committee. 



New York, Oct. 7th, 1856. 

My Dear Sir — I regret that unexpected business in Kentucky 
will deny me the gratification which I proposed to myself, by 
accepting, on the 17th of October (a day memorable in the an- 
nals of New York skill and valor), your kind invitation to unite 
with the " Soldiers of the War of 1812," in celebrating the an- 
niversary of the capture of Burgoyne, at Saratoga, on the 17th 
of Oct. 1777. 

A recent English writer classes this great event among the 
fifteen decisive battles of the world, as having led to the alli- 
ance with France, followed by a large army and fleet; and I 
date this letter of the anniversary of the battle on " King's 
Mountain," in 1780, which turned the tide of war to the South, 
as did " Bennington " and "Trenton " to the North. 

It would have afforded me unraingled delight to participate in 

your proposed ovation to a distinguished event, especially as I 

am a native of the first state admited into the Union from the 

wilderness of the Great West, whose first settlement dates only 

two years before the battle of Saratoga; and thus the blood 

which flowed in the conquest of the *' dark and bloody ground," 

was shed in the cause of the Revolution, and ought to unite the 

4 
LofC. 



34 



lescendants of sires who fought on the Hudson, and on the south 
)f the Ohio in maintaining the glorious Union, " now and 



orever.*' 



With an assurance that I shall be with you in spirit on the 
lay of your patriotic celebration, and with the cordial regards 
)f a Veteran fellow-soldier, I am yours truly, 

C. S. TODD. 

Gen. John S. Van Rensselaer, Albany, N. Y. 



Dec. 4th, 1856. 
My Dear Sir — When I reached this city a few days since, 1 
bund at the St. Nicholas, a letter from you, dated Sept. 27th, 
•equesting me to address the Veterans, &c., at Saratoga. The 
etter was sent from Utica to Green Bay, in Wisconsin, and 
rom that point to this city, where it has been waiting my arri- 
val. I write to you now to explain my apparent neglect of 
/our letter, and one written to me by Mr. Jenkins. It would 
lave given me great pleasure to have been present on an occa- 
;ion of such interest, and I am gratified that I was thought of 
is a suitable person to address the patriotic men there assembled. 
; trust their claims upon the gratitude of our country, will be 
)orne in mind by our legislators. 

Very truly yours, &c., 

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 
To the Hon. John S. Van Rensselaer, General, &c. &c. 



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